Mammoth Cave was really neat; I had been once when I was younger, Mark had never seen a cave. We did a 2 1/2 hour, 3/4 mile tour through the cave and saw lots!
Saturday morning, we started driving an auto tour through the Smoky Mountains and ended up at the highest peak in the Smokies which was approx 6,300 ft. It was so "smoky" that when we first got there, all you could see was white. After arriving here, we then hiked a 1/2 mile straight up hill to where the peak actually was and the view was incredible!!!
Yesterday we did another auto tour through the national park and spent the day in Cade's Cove; a place known for spotting wildlife. We did a 5 mile strenuous hike to Abram's Falls. The hike was a HIKE, but the view was definitely worth it!! We then drove the scenic loop of Cade's Cove a few times at dusk and saw tons of deer. We saw several bucks that were 8-10 point. As afraid of deer as I am, I actually did quite well since we were actually LOOKING for them as supposed to seeing them jump out in front of the car!! On the drive back to the condo, it got so dark back in the mountains that I was driving and tense for about 20 miles. At one point I saw an image of something big and black run out across the street and down the hill. While I didn't get a close look at it and we couldn't see it when we got up to that section, we're fairly confident that it was a bear! Also, now with a baby on the way, we had been debating getting a new camera that would take better pictures. We went ahead and got one here while on vacation so that we could use it in the mountains! We are loving the great pictures that this camera takes!!
We are going to spend the day at the waterparks here at the condo today and then still this week we will head back to the national park in hopes of finding some bears.
We're now 15 weeks too; feeling great this week - a little dizzy, but considering I was able to do the 5 mile hike, I'm thinking I'm getting some energy back too.
